Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39433584›Full record

ArticleSurgical endoscopy2025

Ventral hernia repair with permanent mesh for non-Hispanic black versus white patients: access and post-operative outcomes in the era of robotic surgery.

Grace F Chao, Lee Ying, Li-Ching Huang, Jianing Ma, Saber Ghiassi, Karen E Gibbs, Geoffrey Nadzam, John Morton, Andrew Duffy, Randal Zhou

Abstract readComparative Study
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Surgical endoscopy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. The impact of socioeconomic status in hernia treatment: a qualitative systematic review.Hernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery · 2026
    Pooled it
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Grace F ChaoDepartment of Surgery, Yale School of Medicine, PO Box 208062, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA. gchao405@gmail.com.ORCID 0000-0003-3133-9827
Lee YingDepartment of Surgery, Yale School of Medicine, PO Box 208062, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA.
Li-Ching HuangDepartment of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
Jianing MaCenter for Biostatistics, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH, USA.
Saber GhiassiDepartment of Surgery, Yale School of Medicine, PO Box 208062, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA.
Karen E GibbsDepartment of Surgery, Yale School of Medicine, PO Box 208062, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA.
Geoffrey NadzamDepartment of Surgery, Yale School of Medicine, PO Box 208062, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA.
John MortonDepartment of Surgery, Yale School of Medicine, PO Box 208062, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA.
Andrew DuffyDepartment of Surgery, Yale School of Medicine, PO Box 208062, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA.
Randal ZhouDepartment of Surgery, Yale School of Medicine, PO Box 208062, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundRobotic ventral hernia surgery may provide better patient outcomes. Whether it is provided equitably based on race remains unknown.

methodsWe examined whether patients from the Abdominal Core Health Quality Collaborative who were Black had equitable access to robotic surgery for ventral hernia repair with permanent mesh compared to white counterparts from 2013 to 2023. We performed propensity-score matching to address confounding and then chi-squared testing to examine access to robotic, laparoscopic, and open approaches. Secondary outcomes included 30-day readmissions, complications, and death and 1- and 2-year hernia recurrence and quality of life measured by HerQLes Summary and PROMIS Pain T-Scores analyzed with chi-squared, Fisher exact, and Wilcoxon testing.

results2397 patients identified as Black, and 21,900 identified as white. Our propensity-score matched cohort included 2374 Black patients and 7122 white. Black and white groups had the same rates of laparoscopy (15% vs 15%). Patients who identified as Black were more likely to undergo robotic surgery (36% vs 32%). Open approach was 49% for Black and 53% for white (p = 0.005). For 30-day complications, we found Black patients were more likely to experience reoperation (2% vs 1%, p = 0.005) and less likely surgical site infection (1% vs 2%, p < 0.001). Hernia recurrence scores and perceived abdominal health based on HerQLes were not statistically significantly different. At 2 years, absolute reported T-Scores were higher for Black patients (median 40 (IQR 31-49) vs 36 (31-46), p = 0.031).

conclusionsThis is the first large-scale study examining access to robotic surgery, complications, and quality of life measures. We found patients who identified as Black were more likely than white counterparts to undergo robotic surgery, but they were more likely to require reoperation and had higher pain scores. Our data suggest equitable access still may not translate to equitable patient outcomes.

Indexed as

Hernia, VentralHerniorrhaphyRobotic Surgical ProceduresSurgical MeshAgedBlack or African AmericanFemaleHealth Services AccessibilityHumansLaparoscopyMaleMiddle AgedPostoperative ComplicationsPropensity ScoreQuality of LifeRecurrenceAccess to surgeryHealth equityHerniaRobotic surgerySurgical disparity

Identifiers

PMID39433584

What OpenQuestion holds

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Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.